Today I’ll be talking about one of my favorite films. Based on the autobiographical novel (Gonzo journalism) by Hunter S. Thompson, this story tells the tale of Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo’s (Benicio del Toro) drug filled escapade in Vegas to cover a motorcycle race and, for the two antiheroes, to find the American dream. Be warned though, this movie is a fantastic example of an unreliable narrator as for most of the film, the narrator is on a combination of drugs strong enough to sedate a rhino. The film uses some strong visual and musical performances that really put you in the mindset of being in Vegas in 1971.
After the opening credits you get your first taste of whats to come. Duke and Gonzo speeding through the desert in a red drop top, high as hell. While switching seats, you learn the extent of the two’s “drug collection”. They pick up a hitchhiker and the first flashback begins. You learn here that Duke is a journalist, on his way to Vegas to cover the Mint 400, a motorcycle race, and that his attorney thought it best that he accompany Duke. Eventually, they snap back to the present day, flying down a dusty road on the way to Vegas. Soon, the young man flees and Duke and Gonzo continue to Sin City.
Finally they get to Vegas and, after making a scene while checking into the hotel, the two make their way to their room. While there, the photographer hired by the magazine stops by to meet Duke, who is so high on acid he can barely speak. Fast-forward to dawn where Duke is arriving at the race. We learn soon that he has been up all night and those who’ve been up all night don’t want coffee, they want a drink, so into the bar tent he goes.
Soon, the race begins. The racers spread out along the course and Duke realizes he won’t be able to cover the race in a conventional sense as the whole area is a dust storm. The photographer for the magazine eventually finds duke and has him get in a all terrain Jeep. Duke begins to trip out thinking that the bikes backfiring are people shooting at them. He then gets mad at the photographer for not taking him back to the pit and, in turn, fires him.
Later that night, Duke and Gonzo hit the Vegas strip. After being kicked out of one casino, they huff some ether which, according to Duke, makes you act like the town drunk. Luckily for them, the people of Vegas love a drunk. This scene is a trip in of itself. They go into a carnival themed casino with acrobats landing in nets right above their heads. The drugs begin to get the better of them and Gonzo becomes visibly sick, paranoid, and definitely not sober as he tries to leave the bar.
The next scene stands out to me for the number of static shots. Gonzo reminds Duke of a confrontation the attorney had had with the photographer and a news reporter. This is the first time you really recognize how mentally unstable the Doctor is. Duke is uncomfortable with Gonzo so he leaves to get the car washed and to do a little gambling.
When Duke returns, he finds Gonzo in the tub and that he’d taken almost all the LSD they’d brought with them. Gonzo tells Duke to throw the radio in the tub once Grace Slick sings the high notes in White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane). Duke refuses and after a confrontation in the living room of the suite, he locks Gonzo in the bathroom so he can get some sleep.
The next scene reveals some of Duke’s past. After taking a hit of something from a broken light-bulb, Duke begins reliving a night in which he was at a Jefferson Airplane concert in San Francisco in the 60’s. You learn how the drug culture of the 60’s shaped his life and how he knows there will always be some people who just don’t understand.
Duke comes to his senses and realizes how trashed the hotel room had become. He flees. He heads off into the desert knowing he had no money for the damages. He eventually calls Gonzo from a payphone and Gonzo tells him he’d booked a room for Duke at The Flamingo, a fancy hotel on the other side of Vegas for a convention on narcotics and dangerous drugs. They both end up leaving by the end of a PSA about the dangers of pot.
They head back to Gonzo’s room and each try some Adrenochrome Gonzo had received as payment for something. The next scene you see Duke more messed up than ever before. The colors used in the scene are very prominent. Cycling through pink, purple, and red lenses. The two awaken to the previously pristine room, destroyed worse than the previous one. Duke starts piecing the night together using a tape recorder that had become duct taped to his abdomen. He ultimately decides that it’s all gibberish.
Looking back now, Duke thinks of all the awful things him and Gonzo had done in the last few days. None of this matters though as he only has 15 minutes to get Gonzo to his flight. This would be the last time the two would see each other. Duke has some high praise for his friend as he boards the plane. “There he goes. One of God’s own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”
Back at The Flamingo, Duke is sitting in the destroyed room finally sitting down to finish his piece for the magazine. No mention of the race, but how the times had changed since the 60’s. How Tim Leary advocated for use of psychedelics but had no idea the effects it could have on people. And how the search for the American dream won’t always turn out how you think.
The scene changes one last time. Duke is heading back to California along I-15. Looking forward to safety, the Hollywood freeway, and back into obscurity.
